Ronda Long-Birdsall –Student
St. Pauls School of YouTheology
June 10th, 2011

We are in an age of Paranoia
Where anyone walking down the street is someone to fear.
Where anyone sitting beside you in the bus is someone to hate.
Where anyone driving by is someone to….
We are in an age where violence has been so “popularized” that killing someone is no big deal.
Video games have blood spurting everywhere and kids are no longer afraid or horrified that a life has been taken.
On the news we hear about X amount of deaths and we no longer care or feel anything about that.
We are in an age that sees blood, death, rape, torture and basic human dignities taken away.
We see it and we don’t do anything.
We don’t do anything because we are afraid.
Afraid of what? You might say.
We are afraid of being turned on by our family or friends. Afraid of being discredited, afraid of being told to Shut up! Because we are young and have no experience with that.
But we do have experience.
I have seen friends beaten both mentally & physically,
I know people who have been raped or sexually assaulted.
I have been faced with thoughtless words that because I am a woman I have nothing to say.
That is the least of it I have never faced anything like the group from Lydia Patterson has.
I believe adults need to stop talking and listen!
We have something to say & need to say.
If we want the world to heal then we need to stop the infection.